Argumentation and the Social Grounds of Knowledge, Argumentation and the Social Grounds of Knowledge, 0817300961, 0-8173-0096-1, 978-0-8173-0096-8, 9780817300968, , , Argumentation and the Social Grounds of Knowledge, 0817355685, 0-8173-5568-5, 978-0-8173-5568-5, 9780817355685,

"As a distinctive philosophy, religious humanism emphasizes man's place in an unfathomed universe, reason as an instrument for discovering the truth, free inquiry as a condition for discerning meaning and purpose, and happiness as a fundamental value."Man's uniqueness emerges partly from homo sapiens' capacity to employ symbols effectively. For this reason, Willard's provocative book is not a celebration of controversy but a sophisticated study exploring the grounds of man's knowledge. Drawing upon phenomenologists such as Alfred Schultz, psychologists such as George Kelley, and argumentation philosophers such as Stephen Toulmin, Willard makes a genuine contribution to intellectual inquiry by extending essential consideration about human knowledge. The [author] demonstrates how 'secular sources' provide a fundamental resource in developing religious understanding from argumentative interactions. "Highly insightful and intellectually refreshing . . . Argumentation and the Social Grounds of Knowledge provides thought-provoking reading for humanists concerned with rational inquiry, communication theory, religious philosophy, and liberal education."--Religious Humanism

Charles Arthur Willard (born 1945) is an American argumentation and rhetorical theorist. He is Professor and University Scholar at the University of Louisville, Kentucky.

"[An] important book. . . . Indeed, revolutionary."

--Jahrbuch Rhetorik

"As a distinctive philosophy, religious humanism emphasizes man's place in an unfathomed universe, reason as an instrument for discovering the truth, free inquiry as a condition for discerning meaning and purpose, and happiness as a fundamental value."Man's uniqueness emerges partly from homo sapiens' capacity to employ symbols effectively. For this reason, Willard's provocative book is not a celebration of controversy but a sophisticated study exploring the grounds of man's knowledge. Drawing upon phenomenologists such as Alfred Schultz, psychologists such as George Kelley, and argumentation philosophers such as Stephen Toulmin, Willard makes a genuine contribution to intellectual inquiry by extending essential consideration about human knowledge. The [author] demonstrates how 'secular sources' provide a fundamental resource in developing religious understanding from argumentative interactions. "Highly insightful and intellectually refreshing . . . Argumentation and the Social Grounds of Knowledge provides thought-provoking reading for humanists concerned with rational inquiry, communication theory, religious philosophy, and liberal education."--Religious Humanism

"A departure from the traditional orientation that conceived of argumentation as applied logic. . . . [This book] exhibit[s] a concern for the social knowledge generated by a practice of communication in real situations[,] provide[s] suggestions for interpreting interactions in which incompatible ideas come into conflict, and attempt[s] to explain how human beings thus come to know."--Philosophy and Rhetoric